Cheetah cubs rescued from the trade in Somaliland. Only one of the three survived beyond a few days after the photograph was taken. (Photograph by Günther Wirth & Janice Bowdery)

Wildlife trafficking has become one of the major conservation issues of our time and the sinister illegal trade in cheetahs is increasingly coming to the attention of conservationists. Unlike leopards, the main trade in cheetahs is not a consequence of the desire for beautiful spotted skins to decorate the house, nor is it a response to the demand for traditional medicines in Asia, as is often the case with tigers and lions. Instead it belongs to the exotic, wild animal pet trade.

Those words ‘wild animal’ and ‘pet’ already point to one major issue at stake here; wild animals like cheetahs cannot rationally be kept to their dying days, as is sometimes reported, within the confines of someone’s living room. Cheetahs in particular need more space than almost any other terrestrial carnivore, so confinement within a home represents the most unnatural restriction.

More significantly, the species is listed by the IUCN Red List as vulnerable. Its vulnerability to extinction was already clear due to threats including the loss and fragmentation of their habitat, persecution by livestock owners, and reduction in their prey species, so the illegal wildlife trade compounds an existing list of troubles for the cheetah.

The low density at which the species naturally occurs means that the removal of a few individuals from the wild could have serious consequences for the continued existence of local cheetah populations. The Rangewide Conservation Program for Cheetahs and African Wild Dogs (RWCP) fears that large parts of northeast Africa currently targeted for supplying the live trade—places like Somalia, eastern Ethiopia and South Sudan—coincide with areas in which cheetah numbers are already extremely low.

A cheetah cub kept in a living room while awaiting sale in Yemen.(Photograph by Joe Sheffer)

Of the 70 known cases, 54 were from Somaliland, and that is a reflection of the strategic location of the area—it facilitates the relatively easy shipment of live cargo to the major market, the Middle East. Yemen, for example, lies less than 40 kilometers across the sea from both Djibouti and Eritrea, and it is increasingly featured in reports of trafficking big cats on to other countries of the region.

What Is Being Done About It?

It’s vital to gain broad international agreement on the significance of the cheetah trade because tackling this menace requires cooperation at, and across, national borders. Ethiopia has led the way (alongside collaborators Uganda and Kenya) in bringing the world’s attention to the issue via CITES—the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Consequently CITES has commissioned a study of the illegal trade in cheetahs that has just been published; this should result in an agreement about the scale of the trade and an understanding of its routes and methods of operation. There is hope that this will enable the regions of greatest concern with support and address some of the legal loop-holes.

Cheetahs rescued by Tanzanian authorities from a private house in the town of Arusha. (Photograph by Rose Mosha)

Efforts at the national scale are also underway. The United Arab Emirates stepped up to the challenge last year with a ruling that prohibits the issuing of permits to import various wild animals, including cheetahs, for personal or commercial use. This is a fantastic step that we hope can be imitated by neighbouring countries.

Really at home, in the wild. Here, a cheetah scans the spacious landscape of the Serengeti. (Photograph by Helen O’Neill)

Several non-governmental organisations are working through different avenues to address this intolerable trade. The Rangewide Conservation Program for Cheetahs and African Wild Dogs is working closely with government authorities across the continent to increase capacity to monitor and fight the trade. Meanwhile the Cheetah Conservation Fund documents and campaigns to raise awareness on the cheetah trade. And in Ethiopia, the Born Free Foundation is working closely with the government to increase the understanding of and adherence to the wildlife trafficking laws while also providing an essential sanctuary to cheetahs confiscated from traders. Other organisations, like the Endangered Wildlife Trust in South Africa, keep traders on their toes by following up on the cases that come to light.

Not to be forgotten is the work of some notable and irrepressible individuals who are willing to go the extra mile to disrupt the trade and provide care for the confiscated wildlife. We are fighting the trade from many angles, but the task is formidable and requires broad collaboration and significant resources.

What You Can Do to Help:

1) Report any cases of cheetahs being traded or being kept in private captivity to either the Rangewide Conservation Program for Cheetahs and African Wild Dogs (RWCP) or to the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF).

2) Contact us to donate directly to the cause of fighting the illegal cheetah trade.

Let’s us coperrate to be agood stewards of our wildlife.N/B. ido request the concern {bodies} to fund any person willing to voluntier for wildlife conservancy and rescue…

soula christos

South Africa

August 5, 2014, 3:58 am

Trading in wildlife puts the species at risk. It creates demand, which sees the unscrupulous stealing of animals from the wild, often killing parents of the abducted animals. Captive breeding of animals removes the wildlife aspect of it,, these become domestic animals and does not save the wildlife species

Lindsay

USA

June 24, 2014, 6:15 pm

I’m writing a paper on cheetahs as exotic pets and the impact this has on their wild counterparts. I’m interested in how the pet trade threatens their numbers but also how the portrayal of these predators as a pet harms conservation efforts in terms of peoples attitudes ie. when people view them as status symbols or entertainment rather than predators that have evolved to fill a specific niche in the ecosystem. Do you recommend any sources (beyond those listed here), articles, studies, etc.?

Nick Mitchell

Tanzania

April 21, 2014, 3:47 pm

Thanks for the comments. Paul you comment that “right thing to do is allow a limited amount of private sale & trade of these rare animals in order to bring their numbers up” – actually trade is not required for cheetah conservation. Managing small fenced populations in South Africa’s metapopulation requires artificial movement and exchange of cheetahs to maintain gene flow, but the survival of the species requires only that cheetah habitat is maintained on sufficient scale and with adequate prey numbers. It’s not too late for that and wise planning of land use can provide it; this is the ultimate challenge we’re facing.

Brenna

April 21, 2014, 12:31 pm

Why would anyone want to keep a wild animal captive in their home as a pet? There are many different animals that are meant to live in a home– cheetahs are not one of them!

Alex Keir

Los Angeles

April 19, 2014, 12:47 am

We are supposed to be stewards of the planet, not exploiters. Education is the key – everywhere people need to be shown how beautiful, how fragile, how essential the environment is to all of us.

Paul

USA

April 17, 2014, 10:21 pm

There are several million domestic cats and dogs in the world. Cheetahs meanwhile, are illegal to own and quite endangered. The right thing to do is allow a limited amount of private sale & trade of these rare animals in order to bring their numbers up.

Gaye Foster

Australia

April 13, 2014, 8:52 am

I am concerned that American households & others,seem to able to have animals that must have come from Africa,Asia etc.In Australia we would never think it was our right to do so,nor would our Government allow us to do so.The market needs to be removed.

Rocky chaudhry

usa

April 13, 2014, 7:09 am

save all animals.

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